The character roster is large and far from complete, but the main cast is primarily the countries which made up the Axis powers and Allies of World War II - namely Italy (North Italy in particular), Germany, Japan, United States, England, France, Russia, and China. Hetalia(ヘタリア?) is a portmanteau combining hetare(ヘタレ?, Japanese for "useless" or "pathetic" in a cute or endearing way) and "Italia" (イタリア,Itaria?, Italian for "Italy")[1] The main storyline's events occur during World War II, but the vast majority of the comics take place during other historical events, modern holidays, or at no specific time whatsoever. The series often uses satire and light-hearted comedy to reinterpret well-known events as well as less common historical and cultural trivia. Historical, political, economic, and military interaction between countries is generally represented in Hetalia as social interactions and misunderstandings between the characters.

Himaruya originally created Hetalia as an online webcomic, and so far six tankōbon have been published by Gentosha Comics, the first on March 28, 2008, the second on December 10, 2008, the third on May 20, 2010, the fourth on June 30, 2011, and the fifth on July 31, 2012. English translations of the first two volumes have been published by Tokyopop in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Both printed volumes published so far have topped The New York Times manga best seller list.[2][3] As of May 2012 the English-language version of the manga was published by Tokyopop via Right Stuf Inc..[4] The series was later adapted into drama CDs, and an anime series created by Studio Deen has also begun streaming online. As of January 8, 2010, the anime series' international distribution is being handled by Funimation.

The Axis Powers group of characters consists primarily of Germany, Italy, and Japan, who are also the lead characters of the series. The representations of countries also part of the historical Axis powers, such as Hungary, make additional appearances.

Italy イタリア

Italy or Northern Italy, the primary protagonist and the title character, is a bright, energetic and sweet young man. He is depicted at various points in the story as the grandson and successor of the powerful but deceased Roman Empire (known as Grandpa Rome), and is recognized as the weakest character in the series who is a carefree and cowardly soldier that relies on Germany to resolve issues. His artistry and extreme love of pasta and pizza are references to Italian cuisine. He uses his adorable ways and cute face to charm any girl he meets and is intended to be a "lovable loser".[6] This Italy represents the northern half of the country of Italy, while his older brother represents the southern half. Hence, their full character names "Italy Veneziano (a term to describe someone from the North-Italian city of Venice)" (North), and "Italy Romano" (South). The brothers and other normal Italians seen in the series have a strange hair curl sticking out. Compared with his older brother, Veneziano has lighter auburn hair and amber eyes, which he rarely opens. Both Italies are voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in Japanese. North Italy also stars in the Chibitalia sub-story, about his childhood as part of the Holy Roman Empire, run by Austria. In English, he is voiced by Todd Haberkorn[7] and Romano is voiced by Ian Sinclair. Young Italy, known as Chibitalia is voiced by Aki Kanada in Japanese and Brina Palencia in English, while the Young Romano is voiced by Colleen Clinkenbeard.

Germany ドイツ

Germany is a hard-working, efficient, bureaucratic, and the designated "serious", character of the series. In the series, Germany is primus inter pares among the Axis Powers, and takes responsibility for the training of Italy and Japan. He has light blue eyes and combed-back blond hair with sideburns. Due to his hard training and regulated life, he is depicted as an extremely muscular man, who was initially supposed to be "ugly" (as Himaruya jokingly reflects in the additional sketches of the Volume Five Special), but instead turned out handsome "in a different way" from other characters. He considers the deceased Roman Empire as his hero, and so is understandably shocked when he discovers what a wimp his grandson is. Another aspect of his character is his relative inexperience with relationships, leading him to be a very literally by-the-book person with the belief that things will go wrong if people do not follow instructions to the letter. His extreme devotion to the military lifestyle would make him an effective leader, if not for the fact that he is constantly baby-sitting Italy. Despite this, as the series progresses he forms a close relationship with Italy. The personification of Prussia, meanwhile, (somehow) still exists even in modern settings as Germany's older brother, and seems to represent East Germany during the days of the Cold War as he calls Germany "West". Both siblings enjoy beer, potatoes, and wursts immensely, and although Germany is laden with his responsibilities concerning Italy, he admires the culture and scenery of Italy very much, to the point that he goes sightseeing regularly (which frightens the Italians). In stories with modern settings, Germany is shown to be a hard worker concerning economy and environmentally-friendly schemes, the latter to the point where he is obsessed with recycling. In the anime series, he is voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto in Japanese and Patrick Seitz in English.[7]

Japan 日本

Japan, is a reclusive, painfully polite, and hard-working character. When he introduces himself to Italy, he says that his hobby "is to read the atmosphere of a conversation and to refrain from speaking." He has a habit of answering difficult demands with vague replies, such as "Perhaps next time", "I'll think about it", and "I will try my best". The answer for all of these means "No". He seems to have a problem with others being in his personal space, for he gets uncomfortable if anyone touches him or gets too close. In the series, he is shown to be inexperienced with the Western world, and prone to culture shock. Having stayed in isolation for almost 300 years, he is also depicted as a "hikikomori", and is shown to have holed himself in his room, under blankets for so long, that when Holland comes to warn him of America's Perry coming, he states that he will "melt in the sunlight". He looks young, but claims he is very old, he is in need of a mirror, and his character design features dark brown eyes and jet black hair. He often tries to adopt the cultures of other countries he meets such as France, but ends up secretly shocked or awkwardly confused in the end. In such an episode (with France) it is revealed that Japan is left handed by the way he is holding a pen and notepad. Although Japan has trouble understanding "western culture," and the things he believes are "normal" generally aren't, he is very good with technology, and is especially proficient in making things smaller and compact. He enjoys watching the seasons change and has many occasions for almost every month, which keeps him busy the whole year. Generally quiet, he is often depicted with the attitude of a businesslike old man. Japan also has an Otaku side to his usually quiet character. Like China, he loves cute things and is shown to have had a guinea pig and a dog at one point (when he came out of isolation/hikikimori), and is the owner of Japancat, which he calls Tama. In the anime series, he is voiced by Hiroki Takahashi in Japanese and Christopher Bevins in English.[7]

The Allied Powers, primary characters within the series. From left to right: Russia, England, America, China, and France.

The Allied Forces group consists primarily of the characters America, Britain, France, Russia, and China. These characters are often depicted as comically failing to reach consensus in their war meetings. The representations of countries also part of the historical Allies of World War II, such as Canada, make additional appearances.

America アメリカ

America is the personification of The United States of America. He is very hyper and headstrong but also an incredibly powerful and adventurous man who has a very strong and fixed sense of justice. As a child, he was found by Sweden and Finland originally but Finland told England and France. He considers himself the "leader" of the Allies (much to the other Allied countries' discontent), which consists of himself, England, France, Russia and China. America’s catchphrase is “I’m the hero!”. His ideas for solving international problems are often absurd, and he is usually oblivious to the opinions of others. His fear of ghosts is at odds with a grey alien named Tony, who lives in his house. In the manga, America explains to England that his fear of ghosts comes from the fact that he cannot physically harm them. America is frequently depicted eating hamburgers and milkshakes, perpetuating a common American stereotype. In the anime series, his actor is Katsuyuki Konishi[7] who also voices the character of Canada. America's English voice actor is Eric Vale.

Britain イギリス

Commonly known as England is the personification of England and acting representation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He is depicted as an irritable young man with big, bushy eyebrows. A former pirate, he is now a cynical and sharp-tongued gentleman. Some of his notable character traits include his terrible cooking skills, inability to hold his liquor, foul mouth, ability to see supernatural creatures, and ability to perform magic curses on his enemies. Britain is most antagonistic towards France, with whom he shares a long rivalry, and has strong mixed feelings towards America, his former charge. He's usually recognized for his rather large eyebrows, blond hair (more in a punk-like style), green eyes, and his green Royal Artillery Officer's uniform. In the English release of the anime, when asked why they opted to choose the name "Britain" over "England", Funimation explained that it was a request from the Japanese studio.[8] Tokyopop, the English publisher of the manga, refers to him as "England." In one strip he notes that he has an older brother named Scotland.[9] Himaruya has confirmed that England represents both the United Kingdom and England, while Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales are his siblings.[10] Among England's other 'relations' are Sealand, a micronation whom England considers to be an annoying little brother due to his continued attempts to get other countries to recognise him as an independent country. England's voice actor is Noriaki Sugiyama, and his English voice actor is Taliesin Jaffe, having previously been voiced by Scott Freeman.[7]

France フランス

France is a romantic and carefree man. In the series, he is shown to have a long-held rivalry with England. Parodying the cliché of the romantic French, France makes sometimes romantic passes at many characters. But, he is appalled by the idea of forcing love or unwanted affection upon someone. France explains away his military defeats by attributing them to a joke from God. He regards himself as the eldest brother among the European nations and is actually referred to as such by some of them, though he calls Spain his elder brother in turn. However, he gets very upset when another nation refers to him as an 'old man', as he claims he's still young. He wears a long blue cape with a capelet over his coat and red pants, brown boots and a belt worn over his coat. When he is happy, the way he laughs is intended to be a stereotype of him being French ("Hon hon hon" in English dub only). He is voiced by Masaya Onosaka in Japanese and J. Michael Tatum in English.[7]

Russia ロシア

Russia is a tall man who at first appears to be innocent and sweet, but is mentally cracked from the strain of his bloody history. He adores vodka and sunflowers. His primary target of resentment is General Winter, because despite using the cold to his advantage in war, he is also attacked by him every year. Despite his brutalities towards others, he truly means well and wants to live with everyone in a warm place surrounded by sunflowers. The other nations are terrified of him, especially the Baltic Trio (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia). He also has two sisters: his older sister is Ukraine who is kind but easily upset, while his younger sister Belarus absolutely terrifies him. He becomes gloomy and depressed when either of them is on his mind because Ukraine left him to try to make friends in the European Union and Belarus is obsessed with the idea of forcing him to marry her. Even so, Russia cares for both of his sisters. Russia happily promises that eventually "all will become one with Russia". Another favorite phrase is "kolkolkolkol", used when he is angered. Russia is often seen carrying a faucet pipe (may be a gas pipe, as a reference to Russia's monopoly on energy exports to European nations, including Poland. In the manga, he is shown taking a water pipe from Germany's house, apparently astounded by the idea of accessible running water). Poland is not afraid of him, owing to their shared history of territorial conflicts. He is voiced by Yasuhiro Takato in Japanese and Jerry Jewell in English.[7]

China 中国

China is one of the oldest nations, depicted as nigh-immortal and over four thousand years old (which makes him the oldest living character in the series). He is disturbed and distrustful of Russia, reflecting the Sino-Soviet split that actually occurred after the war. He is a big fan of Hello Kitty (which Japan gave him) and tends to end his sentences with the suffix -aru, a Japanese stereotype of how Chinese people speak. However, he replaces the customary -aru with the suffix -ahen, which means opium, when speaking to England, as a reference to the First and Second Opium Wars. After China's defeat in the Opium War, he became the cook for England and France. During the fight between the Axis and Allies, China fights Germany and Japan with a Wok (round cooking pan) and ladle, which became his weapon of choice that also serves the stereotype that China serves good food. China's boss was introduced as a green Chinese dragon with an intimidating appearance, but in reality, he is quite relaxed and moderate as well as shown to be bullied by China in a comedic way. China is often depicted speaking with pandas. He has many "vacation homes" (Chinatowns) across the world. He is voiced by Yuki Kaida in Japanese and Clarine Harp in English.[7]

The original Hetalia: Axis Powers web comic was adapted into six tankōbon and published by Gentosha Comics under the manga imprint Birz Extra.[11] The first volume was released on March 28, 2008, the second on December 10, 2008, the third on May 20, 2010, the fourth on June 30, 2011, and the fifth on July 31, 2012. There is soon to be a seventh volume of the Hetalia manga books, although this seventh book will be the first volume of Hetalia: World Stars. Every tankōbon except the first were released as a standard edition and a special edition that included an extra small booklet.[12] The first two volumes sold over a million copies by late 2009.[13]

In January 2009 Anime News Network reported that the series would also begin serialization in Gentosha's seinenmanga magazineComic Birz starting in the April issue, but this was later announced to be a publishing error.[14] The Gentosha press release on which ANN had based their article actually referred to a new series by Himaruya, Chibisan Date.[15]Amazon.com has listed Hetalia: Axis Powers as being licensed by Tokyopop for a North American release, with the first volume released on September 21, 2010.[16] After Tokyopop withdrew from the English language market in 2011,[17] Right Stuf has been publishing the Hetalia manga in English since May 2012.[4] On July 7, 2013, Tokyopop announced via their Facebook page that Tokyopop and Right Stuf are teaming up to being out Hetalia Volumes 4 and 5 in Winter 2013.

Hetalia: Axis Powers has been adapted into a series of drama CDs, and so far nine have been released. An independently produced CD that was recorded prior to voice casting of the anime (Axis Powers Hetalia: The CD) was released on September 14, 2008. The first official CD (Hetalia Drama CD: Prologue) was released on August 29, 2008, the second (Hetalia Drama CD: Volume 1) on October 24, 2008, the third (Hetalia Drama CD: Prologue 2) on December 29, 2008, the fourth (Hetalia Drama CD: Volume 2) on June 3, 2009, the fifth (Hetalia Drama CD Interval Vol.1: The CD Of The Awesome Me) on August 15, 2009, the sixth (Hetalia Fantasia) on August 27, 2009, the seventh (Hetalia Drama CD Interval Vol.2: Boss CD) on December 8, 2010, and the eighth (Hetalia Fantasia 2) on December 10, 2010. A ninth official Drama CD based on the Gakuen Hetalia PSP game was released in 2011.[29]

An anime adaptation of Hetalia: Axis Powers was announced on July 24, 2008.[30] It is directed by Bob Shirohata (Gravitation, Diamond Daydreams) and is animated by Studio Deen. It was originally scheduled for broadcast on Kids Station on January 24, 2009 but was later canceled. The cancellation only affected the Kids Stations broadcasts; plans to make the series available through mobile phone and Internet streaming were not affected. The controversies arose when numerous Korean protesters called for the cancellation of the series, claiming that the personified character of Korea was an insulting representation of Koreans. Kids Station claimed that the Korea character does not appear in the anime and that it was "unaware of the criticism in Korea,"[31] and cited "various circumstances" as being behind the decision to cancel its airing of the anime, but they did not provide further information as to the nature of these circumstances.[1][32] A second 26-episode season of Hetalia: Axis Powers was announced on April 16, 2009, and a third was announced on December 10, 2009.[33][34][35] As of March 7, 2010, the title of the anime has been changed to Hetalia: World Series.[36] A fourth season had been announced for Hetalia and premiered on September 10, 2010. This season featured the new characters Denmark and Norway.[37]

On January 8, 2010, Funimation announced it had acquired the rights to release the first and second seasons of Hetalia in the United States and Canada.[38] Funimation later began streaming Hetalia on their website, Hulu, and YouTube with Japanese audio and English subtitles and announced that characters would have accents in the English dub.[39] Via Twitter, Funimation clarified that the series was rated TV-MA due to "some instances of profanity, crude humor and adult situations", and that they base ratings on entire series rather than individual episodes.[40] The first DVD was released on September 14, 2010.[41] Funimation have announced at Otakon 2010, that they have the license the Hetalia: World Series and will simulcast the episodes and release them on DVD in 2011.[42] In the UK, the series will be distributed by Manga Entertainment.

Certain Animate stores will carry Hetalia-themed Purikura booths for a limited time, with a total of 10 anime sticker options.[43]

The fifth season of Hetalia, titled Hetalia: The Beautiful World, was announced in the September 2012 edition of Comic Birz.[45] It was announced that it would be produced by a new staff and utilize a new illustrative style. Romania also appeared as a new character.[citation needed] On June 21, 2013, Hetalia: The Beautiful World concluded. It was released in an English dubbed version on July 22, 2014 by Funimation.

A sixth season of Hetalia, titled Hetalia: The World Twinkle, was announced in the January 2015 edition of Comic Birz.[46] It began airing in July 2015 and concluded in October 2015. It was released with an English dub on November 8, 2016 by Funimation.

A feature-length animated film adaptation was announced on September 23, 2009,[47] and was released on June 5, 2010. The film is entitled Paint it, White! and the eight main characters as well as supporting characters such as Liechtenstein, Sealand, Prussia, Finland, Cuba, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Romano, Belarus, Ukraine, Greece, Poland, Canada, Iceland, Spain and Baltics are set to appear in the film - the main plot of the movie involves a vast majority of characters being transformed into grey-white faceless aliens called Pictonians. At Otakon 2010, Funimation Entertainment announced the license of the film.[48] The English dubbed version made its premiere at the Anime Weekend Atlanta convention, taking place from September 30 to October 2, 2011. It was released on November 22, 2011, and each DVD came with a green bandana as a bonus.[49]

A single-player video game based on the anime titled Gakuen Hetalia Portable(学園ヘタリア Portable?, lit. Academy Hetalia Portable) of the action/adventure-comic genre was released on March 24, 2011 on the PlayStation Portable in Japan. It was developed by Otomate and published by Idea Factory.[50]

A musical called "Hetalia ~Singin' in the World~" based on the manga series ran from December 24–29 at the Zepp Blue Theater Roppongi. The script was written by Yūsei Naruse, and the play was directed by Kōtarō Yoshitani. The cast included Ryōki Nagae (Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Satomi Hakkenden) as Italy, Yūichirō Ōmi (D-BOYS) as Germany, Keisuke Ueda (Yowamushi Pedal) as Japan, Ryūko Isogai as America, Daisuke Hirose as England, Juri Aikawa as France, Yūki Yamaoki as Russia, Taishi Sugie as China and Takuya Kikuchi as Austria.[51] Another musical titled "Hetalia The Great World" ran from November 10-20, 2016 at Theatre 1010, Tokyo and November 26-27 at the Morinomiya Piloti Hall, Osaka. The "Hetalia ~Singin' in the World~" cast returned as well as the writer, director, and composer. Except for Yūichirō Ōmi who was replaced by Yūsuke Ueda. Also, Takuya Kikuchi, who played Austria, did not appear.[52][53]

Both volumes of the printed manga version of Hetalia: Axis Powers have topped The New York Times manga best seller list. Volume 1 topped the list on October 10, 2010,[2] and Volume 2 topped the list on January 16, 2011.[3] Volume 1 has been in the top ten for twenty-one weeks and Volume 2 for fourteen weeks.[54]

Readers reviews of the British magazine NEO gave positive to mixed reviews for the anime version. One reviewer, Ellis Wylam, said that: "The animation is very colourful and cheery, and makes you astonished how they managed to create something so hilarious, fun, light-hearted and enjoyable out of a World War." However, Wylam also said that: "Unfortunately, some jokes (particularly in the first episodes) didn't make me laugh hysterically 'laugh out loud', as much as was expecting when I bought the DVD. However, the humour seemed to develop in later episodes, making you give out giggles that translate as "did he actually just say that?!"[55]

The second reviewer, Lara Garnermann, said that: "Hetalia is an extremely intelligently written anime, suited to anyone with an interest in world history or international politics, and of course anyone who wants to laugh for 26 episodes straight."[55] However, the third reviewer, Rohan 'Amuro' Hine, was more critical saying: "It is a very funny series, but a lot of jokes will go over your head, due to Japan having different stereotypes than us. For example, while we think the French are white flag waving cowards, in this, it's Italy who is the coward, and hides behind Germany for protection. And some jokes can go over your head if you don't have a PHD in history as well."[55]

A review for the second season of Hetalia, also in NEO, by Matt Kamen gave the DVD of the season four stars, each for the program and the DVD extras. Kamen wrote that "[D]espite its risqué jokes and abundance of national stereotypes, Hetalia thankfully manages to stay on just the right side of casual comedy racism — maybe that's why we don't feel too bad laughing uproariously at the dub, particularly Japan's heavy 'Engrish' accent! It's best not to ask too many questions of this show — instead, just sit back and enjoy while Hetalia conquers your world".[56]

Fans of the series have spawned a yearly meetup titled "Hetalia Day" where fans gather at various locations to celebrate the series. The meetup started in 2009 and every year since then, coinciding with United Nations Day (October 24) or the weekend closest to it if UN Day falls on a weekday.[58]